


Pushing Too Much

by ZDcookie_996



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Established Relationship, Fainting, George pushes himself, Germany 2020, M/M, Sickfic, worried Nicky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-17 01:46:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28841103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZDcookie_996/pseuds/ZDcookie_996
Summary: George tries to prove that he deserves to keep his seat in F1 but he pushes himself to hard and his team are left to deal with the consequences.
Relationships: Nicholas Latifi/George Russell
Kudos: 30





	Pushing Too Much

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! Here is another George/Nicky story! This is set in Germany 2020 and to set the scene: George is going into the weekend feeling slightly under the weather. There are rumours around the paddock, slowly increasing that George could possibly lose his seat in 2021 as Sergio Perez has been dropped by Racing Point. He aims to prove that he deserves the seat but ultimately pushes himself to much and there are consequences. It is mainly set on the Thursday which is media day and Friday is mentioned. I just want to make the point that I am super happy George is continuing with Williams and I honestly have no idea how the rumour with Sergio kicked off but the bottom line is, George and Sergio are racing next year. Obviously, George was fine to race in Germany last year, this is fiction so I decided to write a little story where Nicky is worried about George. I wanted to write about Germany primarily because it was raining there and it was cold. I could've written about Portugal where Simon refused to confirm or deny rumours about the seat because it just didn't fit in. Hope you all enjoy and please stay safe!

George knew that there were increasing rumours swirling around the paddock that he was going to lose his seat next year. Deep down, he was confident that he would stay with Williams. The rumour was that Sergio could possibly take his seat. If anyone was curious as to why George’s seat was at risk, the argument was that Williams wouldn’t drop Nicholas because he brought money to the team. George would always argue that Nicky did deserve his seat but then some would argue that he was being biased as they were in a relationship. Sergio could bring money and sponsors to the team. Other than his talent and good qualifying, the only thing that George brought to the table was his connection to Mercedes. George was unable to say when the rumours began but he was getting fed up with them. They had been going on for at least a couple of weeks and he was being asked about it constantly. As far as he was concerned, he had a contract and so there was nothing to worry about. That was if his brain could stop planting seeds of doubt in his mind. Would he have to go the extra mile to prove he deserved his seat? He didn’t know. 

He arrived in Germany feeling slightly under the weather but he had gone through the routine covid tests and they came back negative. The team was aware that he wasn’t feeling great as he had told them as a precaution. He had started to feel unwell not that long after the race in Russia and Simon had told them to take it easy. If George couldn’t race, Jack would be able to race in his place as he was the reserve driver for Williams. George didn’t doubt that Jack could do well if he was to take his place but he didn’t want someone else driving his car. He wanted to drive. He had to prove himself. 

Thursday was media day and it had been raining a lot which was causing concern around the paddock that Friday’s first and second practice could be disrupted as the weather was set to get worse. Not only was it raining but it was also very cold as well. 

George went out with his engineers in the morning to cycle around the track rather than do a normal track walk like Nicky. He had stopped doing track walks at most of the races and was only doing them at tracks he either hadn’t been to or ones that he hadn’t driven in a long time. Some of the drivers had raced at Nurburgring but not recently and others had never driven there. The German grand prix had not originally been included on the 2020 calendar but due to covid, some tracks had been added on to make up a season in order to run. 

The young Brit didn’t enjoy the cycle at all. He was cold and he felt sick. All he wanted to do was go back to the hotel and wrap up arm so he could sleep. The day had only just begun so there was no chance of stopping anytime soon. He tried to get on with things, his mind telling him that he needed to prove himself so he wasn’t allowed to give up. He couldn’t wait for this weekend to be over. 

Nicky was worried about George. The team knew about their relationship as well as a couple of drivers who were also close friends. The couple both shared rooms with their coaches to hide from other drivers and personnel. They had arrived separately to the track but even when they had seen each other the previous night, George still wasn’t great. The young Brit was pale and Nicky knew coming into this weekend that it was going to be difficult for his boyfriend as it was to be cold and wet. He had walked past him in the motorhome after he had arrived and questioned whether he was feeling any better.

“You alright?” He asked.

George shrugged unhelpfully. Nicky was forced to get on with his day. When he had been out doing the track walk, he couldn’t help but complain about how cold it was. He stopped when he thought about George and he knew that the Brit would be feeling it ten times worse than what he was. 

Nicky didn’t see George again until after lunch time when the two drivers were requested to take photos for the team promoting their own jumpers. He ran a hand over his boyfriend’s arm as they were forced to take off their jackets as they stood on the balcony. George wasn’t entirely impressed and just wanted it to be over.

When they went to the press conference, they were both wearing multiple layers due to how cold it was. Nicky noticed that George had kept his jumper on under his jacket but he made no comment seeing as his boyfriend wasn’t well. 

George decided after the press conference that he wanted to go back out on the bike again to keep his fitness going. The weather still wasn’t great but he was determined to go out. As he was just leaving his driver’s room in the motorhome when Nicky opened his door. He stared at his boyfriend for a moment.

“Where are you going?” Asked Nicky, curiously.

“I’m going out on the bike.” Said George, quietly.

Nicky frowned.

“Again?” He asked, confused.

“I’ve not been training much this week, Nicky, I have to keep my fitness levels up.” Insisted George.

“The weather isn’t great though.” Nicky pointed out.

“It was fine when we were out earlier.” Replied George.

His boyfriend sighed knowing he was fighting a losing battle. He rubbed a hand up and down George’s back.

“Should you really be going out when it’s cold and wet?” Asked Nicky, concerned. 

George fiddled with his cap. 

“I’ll be fine. I need to prove I can do this regardless of the weather.” He insisted.

Nicky sighed.

“You don’t need to prove yourself.” He said, softly.

George didn’t reply and just stared down at his shoes. Nicky shook his head and gently patted George’s back before kissing his cheek.

“Stay safe and take it easy.” He murmured.

George rolled his eyes.

“I will.” He promised.

Nicky raised an eyebrow and then without another word, he went back into his room and closed the door behind him. George sighed and pulled out his mask from his pocket and put it on. He made his way down the steps and went in search of his bike, pulling the hood of his jacket over his head. 

George had no idea how he managed to sneak onto the track but he knew he was probably going to be in trouble with a lot of people. Aleix was going to kill him because George hadn’t actually told his coach that he was going out. He was actually in a meeting with the communications team going over the schedule for the week. Nicky and Simon were definitely going to have words with him as both of them had told him to take it easy. He didn’t listen. 

All George could focus on was pushing himself to do as many laps as he could. At one point, he stopped to take his mask off and pulled the hood of his jacket further up as it threatened to fall down. The rain was heavier than it had been earlier when George had been out in the morning but he refused to be put off by it. He was silently cursing the fact that he wasn't wearing appropriate cycling gear but he hadn't been thinking straight when the idea entered his head. He had no idea how long he had been out for but his legs were beginning to burn. There was a voice in the back of his head questioning his actions but he kept on going. 

The rain refused to die down and George refused to stop. He did stop eventually but not because he wanted to. 

George had been racing hard and tried to ignore the burning in his legs and now his back as he tried to keep going. He skidded on the track as he tried to turn and he fell off the bike as it mounted a kerb.

The young Brit groaned as he rolled onto his back and panted, closing his eyes as he struggled to get to grips with what had just happened. His bike was now lying not that far from him. He opened his eyes and looked over at the bike, letting out a shout of frustration as he realised that the chain had come off. Gritting his teeth, he slowly sat up and looked around the circuit. There was no one to help so he knew he was going to have to walk with the bike back to the paddock. He slowly stood up and gasped in pain. His hands were cut from where he had braced his fall and his thigh was in agony from where it had hit to ground. He was now soaking wet and was beginning to shake as the temperature was dropping. He made his way over to the bike and slowly picked it up so it was now standing on its two wheels. 

The walk back to the paddock was long and hard for George. He had tried to fix the chain but his hands were hurting too much so he decided just to walk back. There was a part of him that desperately wanted to dump the bike somewhere but he knew he couldn't. He was so tired from all the walking he had to do and from cycling. He had pushed himself too hard. The paddock was quiet when George made his way back. He continued to slowly make his way to the motor home. No one saw him and so no one could grab the bike for him. He was feeling horrible and he wanted to sit down so badly as his legs hurt but he couldn't. 

Nicky had been looking over data in his ro that his race engineer had sent him. He had never raced at Nurburgring before so he wanted to be prepared. At one point, he looked at his phone to see the time and he wondered if George was back yet. He looked over at Fergus, his coach, who was preparing his race suits. 

"I'm going to see if George is back, he went out for a cycle earlier." He said. 

Fergus nodded and Nicky got up from his seat and headed out of his room. He was surprised to see Aleix coming up the stairs but there was no sign of George at the back of him. 

"Hey, Aleix. Have you seen George?" He asked. 

The Spaniard frowned at him.

“I’ve just finished with a debrief. I haven’t seen him since lunchtime.” He replied.

Nicky swallowed nervously as he had thought George would’ve been out with Aleix but it looked like the coach had no idea that George had gone out. 

“What’s wrong?” Asked Aleix.

“George went out cycling but he’s not back yet.” Responded Nicky, quietly.

Aleix’s eyes widened and he sighed.

Meanwhile, George had finally made his way back to the motorhome. He decided to leave the bike by the garage and pick it up later. He really wanted to sit down or even better, lie down. The rain was still pouring down and George no longer had the hood of his jacket over head, he had lost the battle of trying to keep it up when he entered the paddock. Sighing, he made his way to the motorhome and grunted when he finally got out of the rain. Adam and Sophie who were sitting down at one of the tables looked up at him when they heard someone come in. 

“George!” Said Sophie in surprise.

The Brit didn’t answer as a wave of exhaustion threatened to catch up with him. He was shaking and Adam could tell that he was practically soaked through as the rain drops from George’s jacket fell onto the floor.

“Are you alright?” Adam asked.

George couldn’t answer and the longer he stood for, the worse he felt. He tried to move forward to grab hold of the nearest chair but black spots entered his vision. He stopped and threw off his cap before he rested a hand against his temple. His eyes closed for a moment as his head began to pound. Sophie and Adam shared a look before they got up from their seats in order to head over to George. The Brit opened his eyes and tried to take another step forward but he couldn’t. Instead, his eyes rolled back and collapsed to the floor. Sophie gasped.

“George!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“When did he go out cycling?” Asked Aleix.

Nicky sighed.

“I have no idea but he’s been a while. I thought he was going out with you otherwise I would’ve messaged you or something.” He said, sadly.

Aleix shook his head.

“He’s been pushing himself too much because of these rumours and I don’t think it helps that he’s been ill.” He said.

“I told him he doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone but I think he wants to prove to himself that he can do the best job possible.” Replied Nicky.

“George!”

Aleix and Nicky were startled when they heard Sophie shouting and they shared a look before they immediately ran down the stairs. Nicky gasped when he saw the sight of his boyfriend unconscious on the floor and paused. Sophie and Adam were kneeling down George, Sophie had a hand on the brunette’s forehead to check his temperature. Nicky moved after Aleix gave him a little shove and he knelt down on the floor next to George, cupping his warm cheek. He startled Adam who had been focused on George that he didn’t hear Nicky or Aleix running down the stairs. 

“What happened?” Asked Aleix.

He was hovering nervously as he didn’t know what to do.

“He collapsed. He was outside and came in but we asked if he was alright and he didn’t answer then he fell to the floor.” Replied Sophie, worried.

Nicky stroked his thumb over George’s cheek.

“He’s really warm.” He murmured.

“I think he has a fever.” Said Sophie.

Adam reached forward to pull at the zip of George’s jacket and Nicky frowned at him.

“What are you doing?” 

“George is soaking wet, we need to get him out of these clothes.” Replied Adam.

Aleix immediately turned and ran back up the stairs in order to grab George a dry set of clothes. It took Nicky, Sophie and Adam a while to get all of George’s clothes off as the items were sticking to the young Brit and he was shaking so much. When Aleix returned with another set of clothes, Sophie left the boys to get George changed.

“I’m going to grab some blankets from the garage.” She said.

Once George was in dry clothes, Nicky gently moved his boyfriend so that he was leaning against his chest so he could wrap his arms around him. When Sophie returned, she was joined by Simon, their acting team principal. She helped Nicky wrap the blanket around George whilst Simon gazed down at his driver with worry.

“What’s happened?” He asked, concerned.

Sophie, Adam and Nicky shared a look before Nicky looked up at his boss.

“He collapsed. He went out cycling but he’s still not recovered and he’s still not feeling great but he won’t admit it. I think the cycling was too much. He’s trying to prove he deserves to be in the team.” Said Nicky, quietly.

Simon was confused.

“Why does he need to prove himself? I don’t understand.” He questioned.

“Due to the rumours that Sergio could be at Williams next year.” Replied Sophie.

Before Simon could ask any more questions, he was interrupted by Aleix.

“George probably thinks that due to the rumours he could potentially lose his seat even with a contract and no one is saying anything. Even if he’s confident about the contract, it’s possible there’s a voice in the back of his head telling him otherwise.” 

Simon sighed.

“I’ll have a word with him when he’s better. We need to focus on getting him cleared to race.” He murmured.

Nicky wanted to make the point that George’s health was the main priority rather than the actual race. Before he could say anything, George stirred in his arms.

“George?”

The brunette murmured and turned in Nicky’s arms before he slowly opened his eyes. His eyes fell on Sophie who was crouched next to him. He looked around the room and frowned as Simon, Adam and Aleix were all looking at him in concern.

“What?” He croaked.

“You collapsed when you came back from your cycle.” Nicky told him softly.

George sighed as he tried to curl into his boyfriend. Nicky wanted to know what was going on in George’s head but the brunette was exhausted so he knew that now wasn’t the best time. Simon’s phone rang and he sighed as it was one of the big bosses.

“I need to take this but take care of George and make sure he rests up. He can have someone check him over tomorrow if needs be.” Simon directed at Sophie.

The blonde nodded and Simon left the motorhome to take the call. Sophie turned back to George and ran a hand over his arm that was covered by the blanket. 

When George was feeling better, he insisted on going to his room. Nicky and Aleix helped him up before Aleix took the blanket and helped the driver get up the stairs so he could go to his room. George sighed as he slumped down on the sofa in his room. Nicky waved Fergus away who was standing in the doorway to his room. He moved to sit next to George and pulled him to rest against his chest.

“I’m sorry.” Murmured George.

Nicky sighed and kissed his boyfriend’s hair.

“You don’t need to be sorry but you have to stop pushing yourself to the limit.” He whispered. 

George blushed and just cuddled into Nicky’s chest. They ignored Aleix who was standing in the doorway, fiddling with the blanket. 

“George is meant to be driving at Nordschleife later.” Mumbled Aleix.

Nicky’s head snapped up to glare at the coach for the reminder. George sat up, pushing himself away from his boyfriend’s chest and Nicky knew what was coming next.

“I can drive.” Insisted George.

“George, no.” 

The Brit glanced up at Aleix before he turned towards his boyfriend. Nicky raised an eyebrow.

“You can’t be serious.

“I’ll be fine and Aleix will be there.” Said George, firmly.

Nicky sighed and looked up at Aleix who was still nervously fiddling with the blanket, staying out of the argument. The Canadian knew that George wouldn’t back down and he didn’t really want to argue all night. 

“If you can get a medic to check you over and clear you to drive then fine.” Murmured Nicky. 

George was satisfied that he had won the argument. 

In the end, he did go out with Aleix. The medic had cleared him and whilst he had a fever, that was arguably due to the length of time he had been out in the rain. He had passed Sophie and Adam as he left the motorhome with his coach. They weren’t entirely impressed but George had been cleared so Sophie just kept quiet and zipped her jacket up as she accompanied George and Aleix to Nordschleife. 

Nicky was in his hotel room when George returned from Nordschleife. He had received a text from Aleix to say that George looked like he was feeling better and he seemed to enjoy the drive. It made Nicky feel better slightly but he couldn’t help but worry that George was going to ignore his advice over the weekend. Fergus answered the door for Nicky and wasn’t surprised to see George standing in the hallway. 

“Hey, how are you feeling?” Asked Fergus.

“Not too bad, thanks.” Replied George, politely. 

“How was Nordschleife?” Questioned Fergus. 

George smiled.

“It was awesome.” He said, excitedly. 

Fergus smiled at him before he glanced back into the room and opened the door wider as he turned to face George again.

“Come in.” 

George stepped into the room and smiled when he saw Nicky lying on the bed. The Canadian smiled at him. Fergus cleared his throat and the couple blushed as they stopped looking at each other to focus on Fergus. 

“I’ll head to George’s room for a bit so you can have some time to yourselves.” He suggested.

“Are you sure?” Questioned Nicky.

Fergus chuckled.

“I’m used to it.” 

Before either George or Nicky could question him, Fergus waved at them and headed towards the door. Thankfully, George’s room was only a couple of doors away so Fergus didn’t have to go far. George felt nervous all of a sudden, knowing that he was going to be asked about what happened in the motorhome earlier.

“Hey.”

George looked up at his boyfriend.

“Come here.” Said Nicky, gently.

He patted the bed and George climbed onto it and crawled up to lie beside Nicky. The Canadian pulled him closer so he could rest on his chest. He ran a hand through George’s hair as the brunette sighed, cuddling closer to his boyfriend. 

“You know we need to talk about what happened earlier.” Murmured Nicky.

George nodded into his chest.

“Why didn’t you tell Aleix you were going out cycling again?” Asked Nicky.

George didn’t answer for a moment.

“I had just left my room in the motorhome and I was going to see if you were back. Aleix was coming up the stairs and I asked him if he had seen you. He had no idea that you went out again.” Said Nicky.

“I didn’t tell him I was going out.” Replied George, quietly.

“Why?” 

“He would’ve told me not to.” Said George, softly.

“Because he’s trying to look out for you.” Responded Nicky, gently.

George sighed again.

“There’s a stupid voice in the back of my head telling me I’m going to lose my seat even though I have a contract. It’s hard to ignore and it hasn’t helped that I’ve been ill so I haven’t been able to train as much as normal.” He said, honestly.

Nicky shook his head.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” 

“I didn’t want to worry you.” Said George, quietly.

Nicky tilted his chin up so George could look him in the eye.

“We promised each other that we would be honest with one another and one person’s worry is a worry that can be dealt with together. Don’t forget I’m always here for you.” He said, gently.

George smiled softly. 

“Yeah, thank you.” 

Nicky leaned in to kiss George’s forehead and let go of his chin so his boyfriend could cuddle back into his chest again. He could only hope that George wouldn’t keep things from him in the future. 

George left Nicky’s room that night with the promise of resting properly and said that if he didn’t feel great, he would immediately inform him, Aleix or someone from the team.

As it turned out, first and second practice the next day ended up being cancelled due to the weather. George and Nicky were both disappointed not to be driving but they were able to have a little bit of fun. Nicky was glad to see that George was looking better.

He hoped that nothing like that would happen again.


End file.
